Best yet to come for White Sox ace Garland
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Oh, the anticipation. Until this year, Jon Garland's professional life had been like an old ketchup commercial. Folks in Chicago reached the point where they wanted to tip his 6-foot-6 body upside down, shake and pound. When, Jon, when?
His answers would come in drips and drabs, with flashes of brilliance but without a steady flow. So eventually the pack heaved one big sigh and moved on up the road in search of the next great thing.
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| A.J. Pierzynski has been a big help to Jon Garland. (AP) |
"Hey, not everybody who comes to the big leagues grabs the brass ring the first time around," White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper says. "Heck, some of the best guys haven't done it."
When, Jon, when?
"The kid's got a great arm," manager Ozzie Guillen says. "One bad inning, he would get himself in trouble.
"This year, (opponents) are only scoring one run, when before they would have scored five."
Garland headed west as the hottest pitcher in baseball this week, only to have the Los Angeles Angels douse him with a 4-0 splash of cold water Monday night. A kid pitcher named Ervin Santana, making only the second big-league start of his career for the Angels, threw a beautiful five-hit, complete-game shutout.
There wasn't much Garland could do, short of taking a bat to the plate himself. Even at the conclusion of his first loss of the season, though, the Sox right-hander still had one thing going for him: Let Santana, on the night of his life, step toward the expectations.
At 25, Garland has emerged intact on the other side.
Yes, at 25. Seems like he's far older than that, given how long those questions surrounding him have lingered.
"I think it's tougher on a starting pitcher," White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko says. "His first few years here, Gar was still in his first or second year starting in the big leagues and they were looking to match him up against the other team's second and third starters. He wasn't allowed to learn."
Some butterflies emerge from the cocoon early, some late. Just as you don't rush nature, you don't hurry a developing pitcher. They arrive when they arrive.
